Gunners vow to keep Fabregas

02 June 2010 03:14

Arsenal have rejected Barcelona's offer for their captain Cesc Fabregas and insist he will remain at the Emirates Stadium until his contract expires in five years' time.
The Catalan giants confirmed on Wednesday morning that they were in official negotiations with the Gunners to sign the 23-year-old midfielder who left Barcelona for north London seven years ago.
But a statement on the club's official website read: "Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas is under contract with the club until the summer of 2015. He is a highly valued member of the team and part of our future plans.
"We have followed recent speculation linking Cesc with a move away from the club but, as there has never been any official approach for him, only two informal exchanges, in which we made it abundantly clear that we have no interest in transferring Cesc, we have refrained from publicly passing comment.
"However, on Tuesday evening we received an offer from Barcelona for Cesc and, in response, we immediately and resolutely told them once again that we have no intention of selling our captain.
"To be clear, we will not make any kind of counterproposal or enter into any discussion. Barcelona have publicly stated that they will respect our position and we expect that they will keep their word."
Fabregas has won just one FA Cup and one Community Shield during his time as a first-team regular at Arsenal. He has scored 48 goals in 267 appearances for Arsene Wenger's side since making his debut in October 2003.